1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to power supplies, and more specifically to power supplies typically utilized in electrical equipment such as a printer, or the like that uses a standby power and a main power supply.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Particular types of power supplies may convert the alternating current (AC) line delivered from a wall socket to the direct current (DC) power usable with today's electronics. In some circumstances, power supplies generally utilize two separate power supplies within the power supply itself.
In one example, a personal computer (PC) may use a power supply which includes a main power supply and a standby power supply. Both the main and standby power supplies relay power to other components comprising a PC. The PC main supplies the main power, which supplies power to the motherboard and processor of a PC. In addition, the PC main is designed to provide a large amount of output power (which is typically between 200-400 watts) to supply the motherboard and additional components, such as disk drives and video cards. On the other hand, the standby power supply provides a lower amount of output power (which is typically less than 5 or 10 watts).
Unlike the main power supply, which powers down when a user has indicated shut down of the PC (or other electronic device), the standby power supply normally does not shut down and (after being powered up) continues to convert an input voltage into an appropriate output voltage. Thus, the main power supply operates on an as-needed basis, while the standby power supply continues to operate whenever an input voltage is present (i.e. the power supply is plugged into a wall socket). The standby power supply then provides power to components which continue to run once the PC (or other electronic device) has been powered down in response to a user indication. For example, the standby power supply provides power to the power button of a computer so a user can use the power button to manually start the PC (which provides an indication to power up or power down the main power converter). In another application, the main and standby power supply may be utilized with a printer. The standby power supply may provide power to the network connection of a printer such that the printer may monitor for any incoming print job requests while in a standby (or idle) mode and become active when a print job request is received.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings. Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention.